Considering all the discussion about WWE Network’s cancellation of Talking Smack, and especially this weekend’s report it was personally axed by Vince McMahon, it’s worth noting that - at least so far - the original, official statement from the company about the program looks correct.
That promised that while the show would be going away as a weekly, post-SmackDown (and post-205 Live) program, it would remain for blue brand pay-per-view (PPV) events.
A look at the Network schedule for this week bears that out.
For tomorrow night, Tuesday, July 18, a Table For 3 replay is set for after the cruiserweight showcase:
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But we are supposed to be getting our Talking Smack fix Sunday, July 23 after this weekend’s Battleground PPV:
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No hosts are mentioned in the listing. There’s no reason to think it wouldn’t be Renee Young, but if you’re feeling especially paranoid (and you’re sure it’s not The Usos), she is listed as the host of the Kickoff.
According to the SI.com story which said Vince was specifically unhappy about the show, it will eventually go away even as a Sunday night happening. But nevertheless, Talking Smack will persist - at least for this week, it looks like.
And that lines up with Dave Meltzer’s reporting on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio (subscription required, but recommended):
If [Vince] was that against [Talking Smack] then why is he continuing the show twice a month instead of five times a month or whatever it was before?
The time the [WWE Network] live feed is strong is during the pay-per-views themselves... So I think that he just wants to do the higher rated ones.
The next PPV after Battleground is SummerSlam, which is co-branded, but it will be worth watching to see if Raw Talk or Talking Smack occurs for that event.
Stay tuned.